Nico Clothier

On November 4th, 2009, Nico Clothier’s life changed suddenly. As the result of a tragic accident, Nico suffered a C3/C4 spinal cord injury. After initial treatment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Nico spent five months at the Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. On May 13, 2010, six months after his accident, Nico finally returned home.

Nico’s road to recovery has been slow but promising. Since he returned home, Nico’s health has stabilized, allowing him to complete his high school career with the rest of his class. He has regained some movement in his arms and shoulders, and is experiencing increased sensation in his extremities. Nico has learned to maneuver his electric wheelchair with a joystick, has become proficient in Dragon Speak (speech recognition software), can comfortably use the “standing frame” for an hour(+) at a time, is involved with the peer-mentoring program at Magee Rehabilitation, and is even is even studying independently across the country at UC Berkeley. And amazingly, to help secure his hold on life, Nico has been able to wean himself off of the ventilator full-time!

As great as his achievements in the last years have been, he still requires attendant care and a lot more assistance with everyday things than he would like. His road to recovery still stretches very long, but the great news is he’s moving forward on it.

According to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the average expenses for a person who has sustained an injury like Nico’s is over $700,000 in the first year alone, not to mention the rest of his life. Many critical expenses will not be covered by insurance. When you consider medical inflation and Nico’s young age, these costs will escalate even further.

We ask that you please consider a contribution to Nico’s recovery. Contributions to this campaign will be used only for Nico’s injury-related expenses. All contributions made to HelpHOPELive in Nico’s honor are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. If, God willing, Nico has a full recovery and the money can no longer be used to its fullest capabilities, they will go toward HelpHOPELive’s valuable work on behalf of catastrophic injury patients. Many businesses offer matching gifts to non-profits, so please check to see if your employer participates. The gift you give will help Nico on his journey towards healing and independence.

Please click on the Donate Now button or call 800-642-8399 to make a credit card contribution or use the instructions in the blue box to mail a check.